Agric & Biotech

A palm oil producer, Mr Godswealth Henry, on Monday January 28, 2019 decried the increase in destruction of oil palm plantations in the country. A palm oil plantation Henry, who is the Managing Director of JEKON Integrated Farms Nig. Ltd., lamented the development in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos. According to him, while Cameroon ...

Etta Michael Bisong, Coordinator, Journalists for Social Development Initiative (JSDI), in this piece examines the controversy surrounding the proposed release of the GM Cowpea in Nigeria, saying that, to alleviate such developments, public learning must be adopted and integrated into biotechnology development in the country Cowpea The disagreement between some environmental activists and the federal government over the commercial release ...

The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) has stepped in to assist Sri Lanka control a worm that has spread throughout the country damaging maize cultivation. Armyworm invasion The worm had damaged thousands of acres of maize and threatened to harm rice crops, the organisation said on Thursday, January 24, 2019. More than 40,000 hectares, or half of the country’s maize, ...

The National Biosafety Authority (NBA) of Zambia has halted the transiting of grains suspected to contain genetically modified organisms (GMOs) from a neighbouring country. GMO grains The Authority reportedly collected samples and subjected them to laboratory tests to ascertain whether they were genetically modified. The products are believed to be from a neighbouring country which is conducting confined field trials. ...

The National Animal Production Research Institute (NAPRI) has called on Federal Government to save the institute from total collapse due to loss of high-priced and breaded animals. Cows. Photo credit: telegraph.co.uk Prof. Clearance Lakpini, the Executive Director, NAPRI, Zaria made the call on Tuesday, January 22, 2019 in a telephone interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Abuja. ...

Minister of Environment, Surveyor Suleiman Hassan Zarma, has commended the National Biosafety Management Agency (NBMA) on its ability to properly implement its mandate. DG/CEO, NBMA, Dr. Rufus Ebegba (left), presenting a gift to the Minister of Environment, Surveyor Suleiman Hassan Zarma The minister gave the commendation when he visited the agency on a familiarisation tour in Abuja on Monday, January ...

The National Biotechnology Development Agency (NABDA) says the agency is poised to use biotechnology tools in developing a sustainable value chain for improved productivity of gum arabic in the country. Gum arabic lumps Prof. Alex Akpa, the acting Director-General of NABDA, said this at the 1st National Gum Arabic Biosciences and Biotechnology Stakeholders Session on Monday, January 21, 2019 in ...

World Agroforestry (ICRAF) Cameroon’s Participatory Domestication of Indigenous Tree Programme has been declared an Outstanding Practice in Agroecology 2019 by the World Future Council in collaboration with the start-up Technology for Agroecology in the Global South (TAGS). Ann Degrande, country representative for World Agroforestry Cameroon At the International Green Week and the Global Forum for Food and Agriculture 2019, the World Future Council hosted ...

In recognition of the increasing pressure under which the global food system has fallen, the international community devoted Goal 2 of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to end hunger, achieve food security, improve food nutrition and promote sustainable agriculture. President Nana Addo Danquah Akuffo Addo of Ghana What prompted this decision was not just about people sleeping on empty stomachs ...

Recent advances in biotechnology have paved way for the development of hybrid seeds which are not only high-yielding but also resistant to pests, diseases and climate change effects. Hybrid seeds Some agricultural experts believe that the success of Nigeria’s efforts to boost agricultural production and attain food security would largely depend on the availability and effective use of improved seeds ...